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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · squash · stick · kid · net · perch · object · game

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. net — in sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. chest — of your body
  5. object — a thing
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. net — after costs
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chest — a box
  13. object — an aim
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. squash — the sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. object — to protest
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com